A Photo Essay The Taliban in Afghanistan. Map of Afghanistan .
RETHINKING US-TALIBAN WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AND ITS …
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Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
1 1544-0044-25-S2-22
Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
RETHINKING US-TALIBAN WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
AND ITS IMPACT ON PAKISTAN
Azeem Gul, National University of Modern Languages
Sumeera Imran, National Defense University
Arif Khan, University of Buner
Javed Hassan Hashmi, National University of Modern Languages
Hassan Farooq, International Islamic University
Syed Arslan Haider, Sunway University
Moiz Khan, National University of Modern Languages
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the US and the Taliban war in Afghanistan and its effects on
various dimensions of Pakistan’s security. The major rational of the US waging war against the
Taliban was the contradiction in political outlook between US and the Taliban leaders led the
Taliban leaders’ refusal to comply with the US policy of punishing the terrorists who had
attacked world trade center and Pentagon in September 2001. In the first phase of the US-
Taliban war, the US used hard power to topple the Taliban regime. The Taliban responded to
the strategy with guerrilla tactics when US led forces advanced in different areas of
Afghanistan, leading to the US exhaustion of military power in 2014. The second phase of the
US war strategy included training the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF)
against the Taliban. This strategy also led to confessional strategic failure as US General Mark
Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has expressed categorically. In the third phase, the
US aimed to resolve the conflict through peace talks, which was successfully leading to US
withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 31, 2021. Against this backdrop, the central theme of
the paper revolves around the effects of US and the Taliban war on Pakistan’s various
dimensions of security and its Afghanistan relations. First, a major mistrust with the previous
former governments in Afghanistan and the most important military and economic security
disadvantageous position Pakistan ever faced since 2001. The current study is significant for
academics, politicians, policy-makers knowing how conflict in Afghanistan has shaped situation
in Pakistan.
Keywords: US, Taliban, Pakistan, Security, Afghanistan, War on Terror
INTRODUCTION
The US and the Taliban war began in Afghanistan after the two sides were found in
contradiction on the event occurred in 9/11, 2001. The major cause of the US war in 2001
against the Taliban regime was the presence of Al Qaeda network led by Osama Bin Laden
operating from Afghanistan. The US President George W. Bush rationalized the war, while
approving Operation Enduring Freedom on the pretext that the Taliban had attacked World
Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 9/11, 2001. Operation Enduring Freedom aimed at
eliminating terrorists inside Afghanistan much to the dismay of the Taliban regime (Urban,
2016). The US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces swept in and pushed the
Taliban to areas where the US military power eventually was unable to detect the Taliban
leaving the defeated to resurge again.
The US war strategy for Afghanistan was operated in many phases. The first phase was
hard power indicating its military power. Through modern weaponry and spies the US and allied
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
forces conducted search operations clearing major cities of Afghanistan (Salt, 2018). The
Taliban attacked the US convoys, leading to moral and military exhaustion of the US and allied
forces. In the first phase of the US war strategy, the US used military power as dominant part of
its war strategy till 2014. Experts have highlighted that the US had started to lose the War
against the Taliban by then. To achieve political goals, the US rationalized its second war
strategy, leading to the creation and training of Afghan National Forces. As the Taliban used
guerrilla warfare controlling and regaining territories, the Afghan Army aimed at fighting the
Taliban, backed by the US military (Younossi et al., 2009). The third phase of the US strategy of
war in Afghanistan emerged as peace talks with the Taliban began during the Trump era (2017-
2021). As a result of the peace talks, the US and the Taliban agreed to end the war in
Afghanistan (Idrees et al., 2019; Gul et al., 2021a).
The US policy of war on terror and the Taliban becoming resurgent reshaped global
security. The most repeated actions were taken in the security policies of Pakistan. It was not
only the US but the Taliban’s revenge from the US also affected various dimensions of
Pakistan’s security. Pakistan’s response to the US and the Taliban war had been conditioned by
its domestic and international factors. Pakistan adjusted its policies related to the political,
security, military, economy and cultural dimensions. The aim of this paper is to review current
literature in the following context. First, to understand the US and the Taliban war, while
focusing on how both the US and the Taliban fought the long protracted conflict spanning from
2001 to 2021. Second, to understand Pakistan’s domestic and international position with regard
to its security. Third, by focusing how Pakistan revised its security policy being a central part of
the US invasion of Afghanistan.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The recent history of Afghanistan has shown that superpowers such as the former Soviet
Union ousted by the guerrilla forces of the Taliban and the most recent example when the same
Taliban expelled the US military forces has left USD $85 billion of modern weaponry in the
control of the jihadists (Smith, 2021). The first successful attempt of the Taliban movement
started in 1994 from the Kandahar city, which led to reshape the political landscape of
Afghanistan much to the dismay of the western liberal order. The Taliban in their first victory
captured and controlled Kabul in 1996. The US, which provided support to the Taliban to oust
the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, later turned its policy against the Taliban regime
in the post-Cold War era (Laub, 2014).
On September 18, 2001, the US President Bush was permitted the AUMF (Authorization
of Use of Military Force) by the Congress to invade Afghanistan. After failing of negotiations
between Mullah Omar and American officials, operation Enduring Freedom was launched on
Oct 7, 2001, which formally started the War on Terror. The strategy of America regarding
Afghanistan was to not involve alone but to engage the defense forces of its allies too in the
Afghanistan War. In this regard, NATO forces led by the US entered Afghanistan after 9/11 to
ensure that the country must not become the safe-haven of terrorist organizations or other
attacks similar to 9/11. In 2003, NATO also led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF),
which ended in the transition of power to Afghan National Defense and Security Forces
(ANDSF) to fight against the Taliban forces in 2014. As a former Canadian commander of ISAF
articulated that things in Afghanistan were heated up as America pushed the NATO alliance to
capture and kill as more Taliban. The collective alliance of security forces headed by America
waged war against the Taliban government and retreated them hastily. The U.S led forces
overthrew the Taliban government in a short span of time that had been in power since 1996. On
December 09, 2001, Taliban government collapsed giving full control to American forces
(Bergen, 2011).
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
One of the main purposes of US policy of invasion of Afghanistan was to kill terrorists,
which the Taliban harbored. The Taliban resurged under Mullah Omar launching counter-
attacks. The US invasion of Afghanistan was unacceptable to the Taliban who adhered strictly to
religion and never wanted to see any foreign influence in their political or religious matters.
Foreign troops’ presence up-surged the resistance in that country. This core issue had to be dealt
with immediately by implementing terms of Jihad against the western forces (Collins, 2011).
The major cause of the US war against the Taliban was Osama Bin Laden presence in
Afghanistan. The US wanted him to be handed over for punishment. The Taliban refused to
hand him over to the US. The Taliban treated Osama as their guest under the Pusthoon code of
Pushtoon-Wali and refrained to give him to the US government. Osama was the most wanted
person in the list of the US intelligence agencies. However, in backdoors, various analyses have
revealed that behind Pushtoon-Wali, the Taliban wanted to use Osama Bin Laden as a
bargaining chip in order to gain political incentives and influence. Taliban rightly acknowledged
the value of Osama as a political leverage. The issue of Osama Bin Laden not only escalated the
tension between the US and the Taliban but it also created rift between the Taliban factions
inside as well (Malik & Jan, 2021; Rashid, 2010). Other reason of their rivalry is the strict
adherence of Taliban to Islamic customs in their controlled areas in Afghanistan. Managing their
rule, the Taliban opened “Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Suppression of Vice” under
the command of Moalvi Qalam-Ud-Din (Herzer, 2001).
Islam has deeply penetrated in the hearts of Afghans since centuries till date. Any
misconduct of the Afghan citizens to the Islamic code of life, the Taliban started physical
punishment to enforce strict Islamic practices, including banning of social activities like western
music, dancing or watching television. The Taliban had laid down rules for education, according
to the Sharia Law, which the international community had criticized. Another major
contradiction, which the Taliban has considered against Islam is Bhuddism and within this
context, the Buddha statue in Bamiyan was erased. The US condemned such actions and was
against the Taliban human rights practices and wanted preservation of the world heritage. In the
UN, the U.S pressurized the Taliban to review its policies (Alm, 2021).
In the post-2001 war strategy till 2014, the US hunted the Taliban inside Afghanistan
through their networks of spies and overt military operations; however, the war strategy of the
Taliban emerged supreme over the US war strategy. The Taliban captured in many places the
US weaponry and it enhanced the firepower of the Taliban under the command of Mullah Omar
(Rubin, 2002). The policies of Mullah Omar were based on realist approaches. Even after him,
the new Taliban leaders carried out his legacy such as Mullah Mansour, a Taliban leader
inclined towards the peaceful resolution of the Taliban conflict with the US.
The death of Mullah Omar further infuriated the Taliban. On the contrary, the US
wanted resolution of the US and the Taliban war through military power in the initial phase of
their war strategy. For example, many Taliban leaders such as Mullah Mansour were killed
through a drone attack. After the death of Mullah Mansour, the recent chief of the Taliban
Mullah Haibat Ullah Akhwanzada has been regarded as more of an Islamic scholar than a
military tactician. However, the Taliban achieved great success under his command. This violent
or hard politics shown by the Taliban leaders further escalated the already on-going war
between the US and the Taliban (Thomas, 2018).
After the defeat of Taliban in Afghanistan, majority of them disappeared from the central
theme of war and hid themselves in the shadowy areas. Prominent places where the Taliban
were hiding were Tora-Bora Mountains undergrounded and protected by the Taliban and the
northern areas of Pakistan. Afghan Taliban, though defeated in Kabul, reorganized themselves
and carried out guerrilla warfare against the US led coalition. The Taliban were considered to be
the best guerrilla fighters who attacked on the NATO convoy, harmed it and disappeared in the
Rocky Mountains. American forces were not only failed to encounter them but they even could
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
not reach out to their hide-outs made in the very dense jungles or on a grassy hill. The best
strategic tool carried out by the Taliban was to regulate their forces in small factions circulating
from Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan areas to the battle-zones of Afghanistan (Johnson &
DuPee, 2012). These groups remained for some time in their targeted areas, did their mission
and then backed to the original position. In 2005-2006, the tribal areas of Pakistan were the new
theatre of war chosen by the insurgents groups. The Taliban achieved special status and deeply
influenced the people in the bordering areas, adjacent to Pakistan who violated the latter’s
territorial integrity. Border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan were used by the Taliban
secretly, despite the US and Pakistan’s military forces strict observations.
Within this context, the Taliban operations against the US had major effects on the
various dimensions of Pakistan’s security. As a repercussion of the US-Taliban war, the Tehrik-
i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was formed, threatening Pakistan’s sovereignty and comprehensive
security. On the other side, violence increased across Afghanistan during the summer in 2006
when the number of suicide attacks multiplied from 27 to 139 in one year. With snowball effect
of the Taliban gaining victory and military strength in Afghanistan, the US president Obama
proposed the Afghanistan and Pakistan (AF-PAK) strategy, which stated that from now on
Pakistan and Afghanistan would be considered as single theater of war (Shahzad, 2012; Khattak
et al., 2017).
In the prism of AF-PAK strategy, the US launched military drone attacks on the Taliban
leaders from 2004-2018. The drones attacked were launched on both sides of the Durand line,
aiming at target killing and smashing terrorists’ hide-outs. In Pakistan, various reports have
revealed that total 81 high level insurgents were killed including Mullah Akhtar Mansour,
Mullah Fazl-ullah, and Baitullah Mehsud and Hakeem-ullah Mehsud. In Afghanistan, total
13,072 minimum strikes were confirmed that killed numerous Taliban militants. Drone policy
proved to be a success story of the US strategy and the turning point of US Taliban war.
However, due to increasing number of civilian casualties, it was greatly criticized as involving
the violation of human rights (Shaffan et al., 2019; Boyle, 2013).
Contrary to the US military policy, the Taliban also established special training centers
in various hidden places. These places were used by the Taliban extensively against the US
troops in 2006 to 2014. Taliban were also very active in their battle zones where their field
commandoes marched on their motor bikes and invigorated the Taliban fighters against the US
forces. The Taliban mostly used the outside-in strategy from unknown places near the border
areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Another war strategy was hit and run strategy, which
made the Taliban capable of fighting a guerrilla warfare (ambushes and raids), conventional
tactics (massed assaults, multi prongs attacks), terrorist tactics (car and truck bombs),
intelligence activities (target assassinations, kidnappings, night letters, death threats) influence
and information warfare (media and information operations, shadow diplomacy) and criminal
activities (drugs, smuggling). To implement these tactics, Taliban used small arms and
Improvised and Explosive Devices (IEDs); they also had heavy machine guns, heavy mortars
and sniper rifles. They were able to overrun numerous ANDSF installations, keeping access to
night vision goggles, armored vehicles and laser optics. It also created the RED UNIT’ to carry
out special attacks on particularly important and sensitive targets across Afghanistan (Johnson,
2013).
Taliban from its part sustained the war expenditure and defense budget through various
means. Drug trade including hashish, opiates or crystal methamphetamine and other sources
were the major cash earnings. They also earned well by mining of precious stones, talc and rare
earth metals. They have had the well – developed structure for collecting the revenue and taxed
in their controlled areas along with bundle of wealth obtained by donations. Moreover, in the
recent engagements, they have modern American ammunition as well. Foreign donations by the
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
states, non-states across or individual personality allowed the Taliban to increase their area of
wealth to fight the US troops (Schroden, 2021).
Failing to counter the Taliban effectively since 2014, the US shifted its war strategy
against Taliban resurgence. The new strategy contained withdrawing the US forces when the
domestic and international pressure mounted. The security responsibilities were transferred to
the Afghan Security Forces commonly called as ANDSF. The US decision to change its war
strategy was to prepare the Afghan military forces to fight the Taliban. The new war strategy
was counter-measured by the Taliban through suicide attacks as the number of suicide attacks
increased in 2015 to 2016. Despite the US training of the ANDSF through modern weaponry,
the Taliban gained more territorial victories over the ANDSF and the US troops. The influence
of the Taliban was also creating security issues in Pakistan when the latter came up with policy
of Operation Zarb-E-Azab in 2014 which pushed the Taliban to disperse in various hidden
places (Tariq, Amir & Bano, 2021).
Lastly, the US policy option for conflict resolution through peace talks appeared when
the military strategy was failing. With this long-tired war, the US era of conflict resolution
began via peace talks rather than continuing with the firepower policy. For example, the first
intra Afghan talks started in Murree (2015) that hoped for stable Afghanistan but the process
was stalemated by the death of Mullah Omar. In 2016, a Quadrilateral Coordination Group
(QCG) was formed that included China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and America to discuss
pertinently the Taliban issue (Idrees et al., 2019; Sargana, Bukhari & Sargana, 2020). President
Trump coming into power clearly diverted from Obama`s War legacy. Trump showed harsh
attitude towards the Taliban initially and clearly designated the prolonged war, showing no
concern towards the peace deal. In 2019, a U-turn was noted in the US policy. Trump’s political
idiosyncrasies resumed the called off peace talks again, resulting in the failure of the peace deal.
The US policy remerged in February 2019, as the US and the Taliban agreed to sign a peace
deal in Doha, intending to end the war. The Doha accord stated that US would withdraw its
forces by May 2021 and Taliban would not allow using its soil against foreign terrorists.
Following this, a phase of intra-Afghan talks began in September 2020 (Salim et al., 2019;
Islam, Iqbal & Khan, 2021). On November 17, 2021, the US troops began withdrawal and the
Taliban could utilize the gap left by ANDSF, successfully securing the release of more
provinces from Afghan control.
The next US President Joe Biden while assuming power acted on the US previous policy
of evacuation by 31st August 2021. Amid the widening gap left behind the US troops and zero
resistance of the ANDSF, the Taliban could reach Kabul capturing whole of Afghanistan
excluding Panjshir valley. Kabul again fell to the Taliban in August 2021 after Afghanistan
President Ashraf Ghani fled Tajikistan and then UAE (Chohan, 2021). The Taliban war with US
affected both global and regional security in various degrees. In terms of human casualties and
other loses such as economic, political, social, Pakistan was recorded as the greatest victim of
the US and the Taliban war. Various governments and non-governmental sources have revealed
rapid policy changes in Pakistan involving the US and the Taliban. Against this backdrop,
current academic attention has described the US and the Taliban conflict. However, academic
literature has not revealed the causality relationship in a scientific way—involving the impact on
Pakistan’s major policies regarding military, political, economic and social security. Within this
context, the next section highlights Pakistan’s key security policies that were shaped during the
US and the Taliban war in Afghanistan.
An Overview of the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a long border which divides major ethnic Pashtoons.
Both states share deep historical and cultural links and are co-members of South Asian
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
Association for Regional Organization (SAARC). Religion is the common denominator, deeply
entrenched and plays a great role in the both states politics. Due to close proximity, Pakistan has
been affected directly due to any conflict occurring in Afghanistan, especially the US-Taliban
war since 2001 (Small, 2015). Pakistan is being accused by rival states for supporting the
Afghan Taliban in the US-Taliban war (Shah, 2021). Historically, Pakistan suffered greatly by
the Russian occupation and then by the US-Taliban confrontation. Pakistan’s military security
has been jeopardized by the rise of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) directly under the command
of Afghan Taliban, which further escalated the already on-going militancy in Pakistan. Most of
the Taliban leadership was graduated from the Pakistani madrasahs. Basically, Jamiat-Ulema-
Islam (JUI)-Taliban coalition played a bridging role in Afghanistan-Pakistan nexus. Meanwhile,
Molana Sami ul Haq, considered as the ambassador of Taliban in Pakistan, claimed to have
produced the most Taliban cadres from his madrasah at Akkora Khattak, Dar-Ul-Uloom
Haqqania. This organized group was the ideologue of Jihaddiese and demanded Afghan Taliban
type rule in Pakistan (Husain, 2018). Hostile elements to Pakistan have called the madrasahs at
Akkora Khattak as the ‘University of Jihad.’ Various analyses have shown that the madarissah
was considered to be at the cross-roads of religious militant violence for years.
Pakistan also relocated to the menace of extremism due to Taliban insurgency. The
emergence of religious rightwing parties rocketed political instability in Pakistan. Different hard
core parties like Harkat-Ul-Mujahedeen, Harkat-Ul-Jihad-e-Islam, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Hizb-
e-Mujahedeen, Harkat-ul-Insar were some parties keenly active in Pakistan. They also had had a
large role in mounting terrorism in Pakistan (Aslam et al., 2020). The ideological or practical
stature had a bitter spillover effect on societal setup in Pakistan due to Afghan`s war and
Taliban`s skirmishes with the other stakeholders in Afghan politics. These vigorous acts of
terrorism geared an un-precedent level of political as well as security instability within Pakistan
(Abbas, 2015). The US-Taliban war has significantly affected Pakistan. Pakistan by siding with
the US has faced disruption to its various dimensions of security. As Kissinger stated that “to be
an enemy of America is dangerous, but to be friend is fatal” (Montano, 1999). At the political
level, the relation between Taliban and Pakistan went off bitter right after “Operation Enduring
Freedom”. Taliban thought Pakistan`s act as a betrayal and launched a massive military
campaign. Mostly the Taliban found Pakistan as a safe shelter due to porous border of
Afghanistan with Pakistan while the northern alliance moved towards the Central Asian states.
Various sources have revealed that the top leadership of the Taliban including Mullah Omar had
left for Pakistan. He remained in Quetta in 2002, where he stayed at a guest house run by JUI.
The Bloch capital became the un-official capital of the Taliban movement. Not only the Taliban
but the major influx of other terrorist organizations likes AL-Qaeda and Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU) which led to deteriorating the overall security dynamics of Pakistan.
Political Security
Afghanistan looms large when it comes to analyzing Pakistan’s political security.
Essentially, this aspect of security relates to the organization and process of a government, and
the ideology that gives the rulers of particular country legitimacy. As far as political security is
concerned, Pakistan has emphasized that a country’s political system must not be changed by
another country, its sovereignty must not be encroached upon and its internal affairs must not be
meddled with by other states. The sections below would highlight how Pakistan was affected
when the US was engaged in Afghanistan regarding its political security where as a result of
political alienation, Indian influence in Afghanistan increased which deeply affected Pakistan’s
political influence in Afghanistan, impacting the latter’s relations with India (Gul et al., 2021b).
In case of the US military engagement in Afghanistan, experts have noted that the first
major blow to the foreign policy of Pakistan was the point of divergence towards Taliban was
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
Islamabad’s assistance to the US in the War on Terror. It was the most difficult decision
Pakistan had ever taken. Pakistan’s policy towards the Taliban transformed and it adopted a pro-
US policy. This policy shift in Pakistan`s foreign policy badly affected its security due to the
rise of extremism and terrorism by insurgent groups inside Pakistan. The overthrow of the
Taliban after the US invasion of Afghanistan affected Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban
negatively. The biggest threat for Pakistan was to step back from the Taliban support. Pakistan
enjoyed a great chronology of political relations with the Taliban when the US and other were
also kind to the Taliban. When the US was funding the Taliban against the Soviet occupation of
Afghanistan, Pakistani army showed the pleasure of the US interests and dubbed Taliban as our
boys. However, after the declaration of War on terror, Pakistan became an ally of the US against
the menace of terrorism. This change in foreign policy of Pakistan was seen as a betrayal by the
Taliban officials. The fragmentation of the Pakistani decision to let the US in the country and
jointly conduct operations against the insurgent groups put Pakistan into very difficult situation.
For Pakistan, the biggest problem with the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai interim
government had been exclusion of the Taliban in power sharing. Pakistan being the US non-
NATO ally remained committed to the accommodation of the Taliban in the power structure of
Afghanistan. Consequently, Hamid Karzai’s attitude deprived the Taliban participation in the
electoral process. This further instigated the Taliban`s mindset and when Pakistan recognized
the Karzai government, the Taliban became more trouble-makers for Pakistan (Khan, 2017).
Ashraf Ghani, the successor of Hamid Karzai was elected as the President of
Afghanistan in 2014 and re-elected in 2019. Contrary to Karzia, Ghani was believed to have
well background of Afghan political norms. Ghani government remained anti-Pakistan and anti-
Taliban and pro-Indian. Ghani accused Pakistan and supported Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
(PTM) and Indian sponsored acts of terrorism in Pakistan. Henry Kissinger has noted that the
major flaw in the political attitude of Ashraf Ghani was accusing Pakistan which led to
American failure in Afghanistan. Kissinger’s argument is well-substantiated with the help of
Ghani remarks about Pakistan in different occasions. For example, in Uzbekistan, Ghani
slammed Pakistan for supporting the Taliban. In addition, his government committed to place
Pakistan in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which also increased the gap for Pakistan’s
relations European states (Aslam & Aslam, 2019; Ghani urges Europeans to get Pakistan on
board, 2021; Idrees et al., 2020)
Another important independent variable affecting Pakistan’s political influence in
Afghanistan was the Indian factor (Gul et al., 2021b). Both Pakistan and India have long been
enmeshed in the territorial rivalries. India from its part has utilized the War on Terror as a
political leverage in Afghanistan to influence the latter’s political culture in many ways. India
has invested in political, military, economic, social and diplomatic areas where Pakistan’s policy
makers have considered it detrimental to Pakistan’s national interests. India was the first to offer
full assistance to the US in WOT. It dragged Pakistan into the war by force. India was also a
major stake holder during the two US led interim governments. Additionally, it approved a
heavy budget of almost 1.3 $ billion as a contribution for the development of Afghanistan. A
full fledge embassy was operated in Kabul since 2002. Indian officials also approved
construction package for Afghanistan worth of 70$ million. For example, Salma dam project
and parliament building has been also a gesture of Indian political hegemony considering
Afghanistan. The influence of India also has been expanded by holding a strong institutional
capacity that eyed on every single political upheaval in Afghan matters. This growing Indian
influence was a matter of great concern for Pakistan (Salim et al., 2018; Hussain, 2005; Yaqoob
& Sattar, 2021).
Military Security
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
Military security is as significant as other dimensions of security such as political and
economic security of a state. In international relations, military security is used as a traditional
security of a state to ensure a state survival against any military aggression both internally and
externally. Pakistan since its inception has faced threats to military security due to un-negotiated
border both from India and Afghanistan (Gul & Ahmad, 2019). Geographically, Pakistan shares
a long pours border of length 2640 KM with Afghanistan. Superpowers involvement such as the
former Soviet Union and the US in Afghanistan dragged Pakistan into chaos and violence. For
example, Pakistan’s army sealed its western border, and supported the US accommodation of
two naval bases, three air force bases and the air space to US which has also been a question
mark for its internal sovereignty. Pakistan also had deployed more than 70,000 troops near the
Afghan border and launched 38 full-fledged operation to counter infiltration ensuing from the
Afghan border (Khalid & Roy, 2016). Sloppy, rushed jungles, tingling streams and steep valleys
terrain between Pakistan and Afghanistan has also significant effect on Pakistan’s security.
Rugged terrain were efficiently used by militias during War on Terror. Al-Qaeda made a
strategic step to cover the areas of Hindu Kush which spread across all over Provincially
Administrated Tribal Areas (PATA) and Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA).
According to General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani “The more imminent threat to Pakistan`s
security came from Islamic terrorists rather than from arch-rival India”. The wild plain of Hindu
Kush were used by the militants to sabotage Pakistan’s traditional security apparatus. This was a
great impediment for Pakistan`s military (Ahmed, 2009). Keeping in view the very destructive
environment and the fierce attacks towards the border, Pakistan started fencing its borders in
March 2017. With various impediments, it had completed almost 85% of border fencing and the
rest would be completed by the end of 2021. For a long time, the Durand region had been used
by the Taliban as a reaction to the US invasion of Afghanistan on both sides of the Pak-Afghan
border. Pakistan by fencing and patrolling the border has recorded a decline in the number of
cross border attacks from Afghanistan from 82 in 2019 to just 11 in 2020 (Basit, 2021).
The US attacks against the Taliban and Pakistan’s policy of siding with the US triggered
the Taliban who carried out massive retaliatory campaigns in different forms. For example,
Pakistan`s policy towards the Taliban was a complete failure. The Taliban had especial realistic
film-shooters. Prominent to these were the AMAT studio. The videos of AMAT studio became
popular and was spreading horror in the minds of Pakistani army and paramilitary forces such as
Frontier Constabulary (FC) and levies. In addition, the Taliban targeted the Pakistan’s Chief of
Army Staff General Musharraf, General Khattak. The Taliban called them infidel and targeted
other military places such as Tochi-Scouts checkpoint. The civilian sector was also targeted
such as Pakistani journalists. Bait-Ullah Mehsud clearly articulated that “media war is a real
war” this info tactic of war became very successful with the Taliban (Ashraf, 2021). The F.C
troops who saw their fellow videos, killed brutally became un-willing to oppose Taliban.
Pakistani army troops in FATA suffered a growing number of dissertations. For example,
Pakistani army suffered 150 dissertations. Some 250 Pakistan army men surrendered to a few
dozen militants in 2008 (Keller, 2008), the entire check-point was handed over to the Taliban
(Adamsky, 2009). This morale-down tactics of Taliban became the strongest soft power tool to
oppose the policies of Pakistan. Pakistani Taliban named as TTP were funded by rival states
which spread massive disruption in Pakistan.
The Consolidation of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
One of the adverse effects of the US and the Taliban war is the emergence of TTP in the
northern areas of Pakistan. TTP is another non-state actor posing significant military threat,
which has jeopardized the traditional security of Pakistan since 2003. In December 2007, the
TTP began to shake Pakistan’s military security under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud. It has
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
been recorded that 27 militant organizations pooled their sovereignty under TTP. It mainly
consisted of 10,000 fighters active in FATA (Now PATA) areas of Kohat, Lakki Marwat,
D.I.Khan, Swat, or Darra Adam Khel. TTP is also actively engaged in the Punjab or Sindh
province as well. The commanders of TTP are young recruits carrying aim of terrorizing
unarmed people in Pakistan. Their mode of activities included suicide bombing, target killing or
circulation of Dvd`s and Cd`s. The source of financial integrity depends upon funding from
Pakistan’s hostile states and non-state actors across the globe (Jadoon, 2021). The biggest threat
that Pakistan faced due to the rise of TTB was the ideological warfare. The three main goal of
TTP were identified as:
Enforcement of Sharia Law
Unite against coalition forces in Afghanistan
Perform defensive jihad against Pakistan army
TTP carried out targeting Pakistan’s top security institutions who have claimed that
Pakistan by siding with the western policies would face such irritable security situation. The far
right Islamist accepted attacking the General Head Quarter (GHQ) Rawalpindi, Pakistani Bases,
attack on Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar were the major threats to Pakistan’s
prevailing security policies when Pakistani leaders shaped in line with the War on Terror
(Murphy, 2012). General Pervez Musharraf the President of Pakistan’s regime transferred power
to another civilian government amid in a deteriorated military security of Pakistan. For example,
terrorism reoriented Pakistan’s military policy. Many TTP trained personals carried out terror
activities against the Shia community of Pakistan by target killing and suicide bombing. On
contrary, the Shia community supported by Iran was also active in the Pakistani region. These
sects rivalry formed the legacy of rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia (Gul, Abbasi & Haider,
2021). As a result, Pakistan faced the violent layers of religious militancy and extremism all
across the country (Rizvi & Jamil, 2019).
The Tehrik-e-Nifaze-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) belonging to TTP captured Swat and
ready to wage war on Islamabad and Peshawar as well (Basit, 2014). Actually there were
organized steps to gain political influence described as “Talibanization of Pakistan”. The
Taliban also plotted some assassination attempts on General Musharraf, military troops and
political officials. The military security situation worsened after the incidents of Lal Masjid
(Red mosque) in Islamabad in 2007. The Taliban broke-off all their deals with the government
of Pakistan and started to join hands again with Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organization to de-
stabilize Pakistan. In 2011, the law-enforcement agencies came under criticism when Osama
Bin Laden was found in Abbottabad. There was national as well international wave of violence
in Pakistan. On one side, law enforcement agencies were trying to justify their position in front
of the world against terrorism while on the other hand, they were under the violent attacks by
militants (Ahmad, Bakht & Hassan, 2016).
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban victory has worried Pakistan that
TTP may use the territory of Afghanistan under the second Taliban rule to jeopardize Pakistan’s
security. Kabul fell to the Taliban for the second time on August 15, 2021 after the ANDSF
defeat and the US exit from Afghanistan. Expert have belief that the TTP can escalate and
trigger Pakistan’s fragile security situation. However, Taliban`s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid,
clearly articulated that there is no place for the TTP and Afghanistan cannot allow any terror
group to operate across the border in Pakistan.
Another important security threat of the US and the Taliban war in Afghanistan has been
Pakistan’s nuclear security. Pakistan was pushed to deal with foreign occupation in Afghanistan
and tightening security of the command and control of Pakistan nuclear arsenals. Mostly
scholars deliberated the possibility of a strong chance for militias to capture Pakistan nuclear
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
10 1544-0044-25-S2-22
Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
assets (Shapoo, 2017). In 2007, two attacks were also carried out by militants in Sargodha and
Kamra; both were very sensitive nuclear areas. On August 21, 2008 Pakistan ordinance factory
came under fierce attack. This deadly attack sent strong shockwaves to WAH`s extensive
explosive related infrastructure considered as assembly site for Pakistan`s nuclear weapons.
Attack was claimed by the TTP which was gaining strength over the time. Another attack on
Uranium Mine in Dera Ghazi Khan was a clear indication of the security threat to Pakistan
which the TTP posed on October 10, 2009 (Clary, 2010), and an attack on GHQ claimed by
TTP was disastrous for Pakistan national security where attackers were managed to hide
themselves inside the office and had intentions to kill the high officials of Pakistan army (Times,
2017).
Economic Security
Since the inception of Pakistan in 1947, it inherited weak economic infrastructure and
the leaders tried to fill the gap with the international funding from various financial institutions
such as IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other Muslim states. Pakistan’s
economic security like other states’ economic security became effected both positively and
negatively. M. Zakaria has examined that increasing 1% of terrorism has reduced Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) by 0.104%, domestic investment by 0.039% and economic growth by 0.02%
(Zakaria, Jun & Ahmed, 2019). Different studies have estimated that Pakistan suffered from
67.93$billion to 5037$billion in just a decade. The worst years were 2009-2012 in which
Pakistan had lost total 49.31$b between 2009 and 2012 equivalent to the Pakistani rupees
10,373 out of 123.13 $billion in total. The total expenditure losses over the years of war on
terror were 10,373.36 million (Khan, Estrada & Yusof, 2016). The War on Terror affected many
economic policies of Pakistan. For example, tourism industry was destroyed. Hundreds of
thousands of people became jobless. Sports culture had been destroyed. Investors in Pakistan
lost their trust due to weakening security situation in Pakistan. Pakistan`s export declined. The
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate fell down to 50 percent in just 5 years (Yaseen &
Awan, 2017).
The first few years of Pakistan siding with the US faced major turn in the economic
sector. For example, the inflation rate increased from 4 to 7.9 percent. There was a trade deficit
with almost increment of more than 50 percent in just four years. While, the State Bank of
Pakistan issued the statistics in which the external debts jumped from USD 32.46 billion to USD
50.14 billion. The economic indicators further declined in progress and its negative impacts
were recorded in the national budget. For example, Government was unable to spend the key
budgets to other social issue areas like health, education, agriculture (Haider et al., 2021).
According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Afghan war was totally disastrous for the
economy of Pakistan especially in the years 2009-2012 collectively costing USD 42.25 billion
(Malik & Zaman, 2013). The fragile security situation in Pakistan such as Lal Masjid operation
where militants were targeted by the security forces and this event led to the spill-over of
violence to areas of Pakistan. Various sources have revealed that it affected FDI, declining to
3.72 $billion from 5.4 $billion in just one year. The textile export retarded 11 percent amid the
peak years of the War on Terror by USD10.8 billion to USD 9.78 $billion (Siddique, 2008).
Along with these conflicts, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the frontline due to its
direct geographical link with Afghanistan.
The industrial workforce shrank on the other side from 57000 in 2008 to 24000 in 2009
when the TTP caused country wide fear among people due to its various suicide bombing and
propaganda. In addition, infrastructure had been destroyed and the menace of poverty became
the top most problem in Pakistan. The government offered some compensation scheme but
terrorism in Pakistan cost 75% decline in the commercial activities as well. In this regard,
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
11 1544-0044-25-S2-22
Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
almost 73% industries were tried to cash out by the Taliban that reduced the exports rate from
USD1.5 billion to USD150 billion. The AF-PAK Transit Trade Route was also affected because
due to the absence of peace and stability it led to decline in trade and moreover destruction,
chaos and violence in the border areas. It was estimated that the poverty line in border areas rose
by 2.3% to 36.1% and another 9% rate increment was also detected. During that time, Pakistan
stood at 141 out of 182 in poverty index and 101 out of 135 in human poverty index under
which 63% were transitory poor, 32 % were chronic poor while 5% were extremely poor. The
only 2008 data has shown that poverty increased from 23-28 % in only12 months (Khan, 2013).
Another important independent variable which affected the economic security of
Pakistan was tourism. Pakistan was genuinely considered as one of the coolest spot in the
tourism plan of the world. The higher peaks, dwindling valleys, four well established weathers
and the combination of humid and dry places attracts many tourists on its resort. The militancy
relinquished it all. The biggest spot was the Swat Valley which was the theater of war on TNSM
and TTP. It was also hide outs of several militants that seized the area having full control in the
valley. Pakistan was spotted 113 out of 133 in the tourism index. The industry had lost some
USD8 billion which was estimated up to USD50 billion if terrorist activities upsurge (Khan,
Bibi, Lyu, Raza, Hayat & Meo, 2020). Sports are the identity of any nation in the world.
Moreover, it is also a tool for the economic uprising of any country. Pakistan has ben also a
great contributor in world`s sports like cricket, squash, hockey and Olympics. The menace of
terrorism and the US Taliban war deteriorated the image of Pakistan extremely. Sri-Lankan
cricket team was attacked in 2009. Pakistan lost the chance of number of international sports
events to be hosted in the country listed below.
ICC cricket world cup
New-Zeeland cricket tour to Pakistan
Australia cricket tour to Pakistan
ICC champion trophy Pakistan 2009
Asia-Oceania zone group two Davis Cup ties against Oman and Philippines
An international squash event
A table tennis event.
The manufacturing industry had also been hit hard by frequent incident of terrorism and
has been created an uncertain environment resulting into low level of economic growth. The
manufacturing industry has witnessed a lowest ever shares of 18.2% of GDP over the last five
years. In addition, the small and medium sized enterprises which are the key areas of Pakistan
have been affected across the country because of power shortage and recurrent terrorist attacks/
due to war on terror, local’s people of war ridden areas tried to migrate. These people had left
their homes, business and properties. This large influx of people and their rehabilitation greatly
affected Pakistan’s economic security. Un-employment is still prevalent and most of the
Pakistani GDP had been sharing to the defense and war activities. The total estimated loss of
WOT since 2001 have been rendered as 123.13 $ billion which have negative effects on the
overall the growth of Pakistan (Mamoon, Akhtar & Hissam, 2011).
Cultural and Social Security
It is believed that another dimension of Pakistan’s security which was badly affected is
the cultural and social security. It had seminal effects on various Pakistan’s policies for cultural
and social security. When Pakistan sided with the US war on terror it affected cultural belonging
of various factions especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK) province of Pakistan. The root of
cultural violence started after Afghan-jihad in Pakistan. The Arabs-jihadists of Osama Bin
Laden further add fumes to flames. As the Taliban have deeply ethically embedded with the
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
12 1544-0044-25-S2-22
Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
Pashtuns in KPK and other provinces promoted the Pashtun ethno-nationalist agenda in
Pakistan. These Pashtuns further bi-furcated in Deobandi sect and the Sunni and Shia issue
became as a security threat to the national integrity of Pakistan. The TTP fought proxy wars
against the Shia sect. TTP have believed in the practices of fundamental principles of Islam by
following Deobandi teaching of Islam. In addition to the issue of sectarianism, the Taliban
Strictly adhere to their Pahtunwali they had had the signs of hatred among other nations. Quetta
based Taliban considered Punjabi as a threat to their objectives (Kaltenthaler & Miller, 2015;
Wasai et al, 2019; Khan et al., 2019).
The areas where TTP actively prohibited the people from social needs of life such as
health. Particularly, the access to basic health was prohibited by the Taliban. The divergent ratio
that was observed was 57.9% in men while 54.9% in women. According to Mehreen Usman,
when refugees transit from non-endemic region to an endemic region, they are more prone to
complete diseases as compared to indigenous population, as they are not immune to national
strains. The same story of Afghan refugees is going rapidly in Pakistan. The research has shown
the influx of Afghani refugees has suffered with increased number of: Mortality= 0.08%,
Morbidity= 49.02%, TB= 49%, Malaria= 72% (Usman, 2020). The biggest cause of tension for
Pakistan in health sector is the polio cases. The available data has shown that the KPK Province
(155) and FATA (341) had biggest number of cases due to large Afghan community in the form
of refugees present in these areas. Moreover, the polio disease was made the essence of religious
contradiction, social problem or cultural violence as well. A large propaganda campaign was
launched against the polio vaccine in FATA and KPK by the former militants in Pakistan (Khan
et al., 2019; Rehman et al., 2021). Beside health, education was the most endowing factor led by
the Taliban.
The Taliban of Afghanistan had reservations about the western type of education in two
ways. Firstly, they were against the modern liberal education. Secondly, they never wanted their
girls to be educated in western values. Within this context, schools were closed as per their
policy to revert people to Islamic education. Only alone in 2011, there were 440 attacks and
threats against schools in Pakistan as compared to 500 in 2010. In last years, Total 150,000
students were under-privileged of education and 8000 teachers lost their jobs (Mata et al., 2021).
Taliban declared female education in liberal values as an un-Islamic act. The Taliban favored
Madrassas’s schools against the western type of education (Malik, Zhilong & Ashraf, 2019).
Policy Recommendation
First and foremost is the dire need to engage Taliban as a community based approach. Taliban has learned
a lot from the past. They are now talking about inclusive type of government in Afghanistan, civilized
norms and their instructions to the fellow citizens augmented their sense of politics. So, Taliban must be
engaged in every step of political settlements considering them as a legitimate actor.
Pakistan must need to develop a staunch position on Afghan crisis by shaping a firm stance on
Afghanistan. It must establish a strategic committee cell on Afghan situation, and proper regular meetings
of National Security Council should be held to discuss the crisis.
A rigorous policy on refugee issue is needed. Pakistan has hosted already millions of refugees. There is
another influx of refugees which also brings terrorism, if civil war looms in Afghanistan in future. Pakistan
should also make strict regulations for the refugee problem.
Border problem is also an issue of insecurity for both the states. Enhancing the security of border is the
only viable option available. Proper check and balance policy should be adopted. The surveillance media
and laser rectifier can be a good choice. Additionally, the hidden ways known only by the terrorist must be
crystallized by security forces in order to make the border areas stable.
Afghanistan is located a cross-road of clusters of regional powers sharing geography with Pakistan, Iran,
China and Central Asia. The regional entities must develop a sense of consensus to work along with
Afghanistan. The new Taliban government in Kabul already has signaled to work with other regional
states. The stronger institutional mechanism is a good option for the well-being of Afghanistan. Shanghai
Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues Volume 25, Special Issue 2, 2022
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Citation Information: Gul, A., Imran, S., Khan, A., Hashmi, J.H., Farooq., H., Haider, S.A., & Khan, M. (2022). Rethinking US-
Taliban war in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues,
25(S2), 1-14.
Cooperation Organization (SCO), South Asian Association for Regional Organization (SAARC) and other
international organizations must play their part to stabilize Afghanistan.
According to a report, 98% of the US funding in Afghanistan went on military spending leaving behind the
social issue areas. Pakistan and China can play their role, specifically, to reconstruct Afghanistan. China
has a capacity to work along with the new the Taliban government as indicated by the Suhail Shaheen
(Spokesman of Taliban). Both the states should devise a valid plan to uplift the social status of the war-
torn country.
The strong forecast about rise of militancy and extremism in Pakistan by the success of the Taliban regime
is already on the board. To counter this, a viable Counter Violent Extremism strategy is needed to be
focused. The dire need is to banish the ideological narratives spread by radicalism in Pakistan to counter-
act these ideologies, modern education, moderate religious personalities and a firm strategy must be
adopted to check and balance not only terrorism but also the religious-level extremism and
fundamentalism as well.
National Action Plan (NAP) started in 2014 still in a critical phase to be implemented. The first priority
should be to implement the NAP as soon as possible by removing the hurdles in its ways.
CONCLUSION
Pakistan, as a neighbor of Afghanistan shares a long historical chronology of relations.
Unfortunately, the war in Afghanistan affects Pakistan a lot and has also disastrous
consequences across the border as well. Since 2001, the US and the Taliban were in continuous
state of war under which the Taliban hid in unknown places near Pak-Afghan border and the US
carried fierce attacks on them inside Pakistani territory through drones. During this so-called
WOT, Pakistan suffered more than any other. Politically, position of Pakistan was weakened not
just on international level but domestically every segment of society was affected also. The
economy of Pakistan that was already in a delicate situation showed more downward statistics
during this era. Foreign debts, poverty commercial businesses and other economic activities
were disturbed during these years of war. The spillover effect of war in the form of extremism
has risen up to un-precedent levels. Northern areas of Pakistan were considered as a safe haven
for militants. The insecurity on border led Pakistan army to fence this area. Hence, the US-
Taliban fight was a quagmire. Pakistan ached much. However, the array of hope is still standing.
Stringent policies’ can be adopted in order to make Afghanistan and Pakistan more stable.
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